Liberal Democratic Congress: Difference between revisions

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| split            = [[Solidarity Citizens' Committee]]
| split            = [[Solidarity Citizens' Committee]]
| merged          = [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]]
| merged          = [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]]
| ideology        = [[Conservative liberalism]]<br />[[Pro-Europeanism]]
| ideology        = [[Neoliberalism]]<ref>{{bulleted list|{{cite book |title=Poland's Return to Capitalism: From the Socialist Bloc to the European Union |year=2008 |first=Gavin |last=Rae |isbn=978-1-84511-474-9 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |page=173 |quote="Liberal-Democratic Congress (KLD). The party developed in a neoliberal direction, which was underlined when Leszek Balcerowicz became its leader in 1995."}}|{{cite book |title=Defending Women's Rights in Europe: Gender Equality and EU Enlargement |first=Olga A. |last=Avdeyeva |year=2015 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-5591-4 |page=131 |quote="A group of liberal democratic parties advocated individual rights and neoliberal reforms (Democratic Union and the Liberal Democratic Congress), the social democratic left supported civic and socioeconomic rights (Democratic Left Alliance and the Labor Union), and the conservative-nationalist right advocated socioeconomic rights, but demanded the primacy of the family and the nation over the individual (e.g., the Christian-National Union) (Stanley 2011)."}}}}</ref><br>[[Conservative liberalism]]<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA344372.pdf |date=14 June 1991 |journal=JPRS Report: East Europe |publisher=[[Foreign Broadcast Information Service]] |title=Growing Popularity of Liberal-Democratic Congress |page=15 |quote="The KLD is already preparing for the election, although the lack of an electoral law makes precise actions impossible. We prefer alliances of electoral blocs or certain integrating movements in the direction of creating larger political organizations, for example, a broadly conceived liberal-conservative bloc."}}</ref><br />[[Pro-Europeanism]]
| position        = [[Centre-right]]
| position        = [[Centre-right]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/women-come-power-vatican-249535 |title=Women Come to Power in the Vatican |date=5 May 2014 |first=John |last=Cornwell |website=[[Newsweek]] |quote="She managed to bring together a parliamentary victory with a shaky coalition of her own Democratic Union, the Catholic Christian National Union, and the centre-right Liberal Democratic Congress."}}</ref>
}}
}}


The '''Liberal Democratic Congress''' ({{langx|pl|Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny}} (KLD)) was a [[Conservative liberalism|conservative-liberal]] [[list of political parties in Poland|political party in Poland]].<ref name="Szacki1994">{{cite book|author=Jerzy Szacki|title=Liberalism After Communism|url=https://archive.org/details/liberalismafterc00szac|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-1-85866-016-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/liberalismafterc00szac/page/182 182]}}</ref>
The '''Liberal Democratic Congress''' ({{langx|pl|Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny}}, '''KLD''') was a [[Conservative liberalism|conservative-liberal]] [[list of political parties in Poland|political party in Poland]].<ref name="Szacki1994">{{cite book|author=Jerzy Szacki|title=Liberalism After Communism|url=https://archive.org/details/liberalismafterc00szac|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-1-85866-016-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/liberalismafterc00szac/page/182 182]}}</ref> The party, led by Donald Tusk, had roots in the Solidarity movement. It advocated free market economy, individual liberty, European integration in the form of European Union membership, and rapid privatisation of the enterprises still owned by the Polish state and decentralisation of the government.


The party, led by Donald Tusk, had roots in the Solidarity movement. It advocated free market economy and individual liberty (however in Catholic understanding), rejected extremism and fanaticism and favoured European integration (in the form of European Union membership), rapid privatisation of the enterprises still owned by the Polish state and decentralisation of the government.
==History==
The party was founded in 1990 by the faction of Solidarity that strongly favoured free-market economy. Until 1991, was a part of the Centre Agreement led by the Kaczyński brothers. In the [[1991 Polish parliamentary election]], KLD got 7.5% of the votes and 37 seats in the Sejm (total 460 seats). Composed of anti-communist neoliberals, the MPs of the Liberal Democratic Congress were heavily involved in the [[Balcerowicz Plan]], a neoliberal "shock therapy" program which dismantled the socialist economy in Poland and introduced a free-market capitalist economy through radical deregulation and privatization measures.<ref name="higgins">{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/world/europe/donald-tusk-poland-prime-minister.html |title=Donald Tusk, a Man of Eclectic Identities, Returns to Power in Poland |date=12 December 2023 |website=[[New York Times]] |first=Andrew |last=Higgins |location=Warsaw}}</ref>


Until 1991, was a part of the Centre Agreement led by the Kaczyński brothers. In the 1991 general elections KLD got 7.5% of the votes and 37 seats in the Sejm (total 460 seats). In 1993 KLD got 4.0% of the votes and was left without seats.
Widespread public discontent with the Balcerowicz Plan and neoliberal policies caused the party's support to sharply decline.<ref name="higgins"/> In the [[1993 Polish parliamentary election]], KLD got 4.0% of the votes and was left without seats. The party then became increasingly marginalized and struggled to find a role for itself in Polish politics.<ref>{{cite book |title=Poland's Return to Capitalism: From the Socialist Bloc to the European Union |year=2008 |first=Gavin |last=Rae |isbn=978-1-84511-474-9 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |page=173}}</ref>


In 1994, the KLD merged with the [[Democratic Union (Poland)|Democratic Union (''Unia Demokratyczna'')]] to form the [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union (''Unia Wolności'', UW)]], preserving its liberal ideals. Former members, including Lewandowski and [[Donald Tusk]], later joined the [[Civic Platform]] (PO) in 2001, where they shaped its moderate conservative wing. The KLD's legacy endures in Poland's market-driven economy, EU membership (2004), and the political careers of its founders. Donald Tusk, the KLD's final chairman (1991–1994), ascended to become Prime Minister of Poland (2007–2014) and President of the European Council (2014–2019), while Lewandowski served as EU Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget (2010–2014), cementing the KLD's enduring impact on Poland's democratic trajectory.
In 1994, the KLD merged with the [[Democratic Union (Poland)|Democratic Union (''Unia Demokratyczna'')]] to form the [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union (''Unia Wolności'', UW)]], preserving its liberal ideals. Former members, including Lewandowski and [[Donald Tusk]], later joined the [[Civic Platform]] (PO) in 2001, where they shaped its moderate conservative wing. The KLD's legacy endures in Poland's market-driven economy, EU membership (2004), and the political careers of its founders. Donald Tusk, the KLD's final chairman (1991–1994), ascended to become Prime Minister of Poland (2007–2014) and President of the European Council (2014–2019), while Lewandowski served as EU Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget (2010–2014), cementing the KLD's enduring impact on Poland's democratic trajectory.
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==Ideology==
The party advocated individual rights and neoliberal reforms.<ref>{{cite book |title=Defending Women's Rights in Europe: Gender Equality and EU Enlargement |first=Olga A. |last=Avdeyeva |year=2015 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-5591-4 |page=131 |quote="A group of liberal democratic parties advocated individual rights and neoliberal reforms (Democratic Union and the Liberal Democratic Congress), the social democratic left supported civic and socioeconomic rights (Democratic Left Alliance and the Labor Union), and the conservative-nationalist right advocated socioeconomic rights, but demanded the primacy of the family and the nation over the individual (e.g., the Christian-National Union) (Stanley 2011)."}}</ref> The Liberal Democratic Congress was more radical on neoliberal economic postulates than the [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]], postulating radical deregulation and arguing that "market rules took precedence of moral and political norms".<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/95-97/dziubka.pdf |first=Kazimierz |last=Dziubka |title=Emergent democratic citizenship: a study of changing value patterns in Polish society. Final Report |location=Wroclaw |year=1997 |journal=NATO Research Fellowships Programme |page=44}}</ref> The party postulated a capitalist state based on the promotion of free enterprise, privatization and the consolidation of private ownership.<ref>{{cite book |title=Poland's Return to Capitalism: From the Socialist Bloc to the European Union |year=2008 |first=Gavin |last=Rae |isbn=978-1-84511-474-9 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |page=185 |quote="Two main liberal parties existed in Poland at the beginning of transition: the Liberal-Democratic Congress (Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny – KLD) and the Democratic Union (Unia Demokratyczna – UD). The KLD believed in creating a democratic capitalist state, based upon the promotion of enterprise, privatisation and the consolidation of private ownership. (Kopczyński, 2000)."}}</ref>
The Liberal-Democratic Congress wanted to bring a "neoliberal and conservative revolution" to Poland based on the examples of [[Margaret Thatcher]] and [[Ronald Reagan]]. Economically, the party listed [[Friedrich Hayek]], [[Ludwig Mises]], [[Walter Lippmann]] and [[Raymond Aron]] as its patrons. The leader of the party, Donald Tusk, claimed that "the basic evil of communism was the omnipresence of state institutions" and that "progress will
be evident in privatization". The party also considered itself liberal-conservative.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA344372.pdf |date=14 June 1991 |journal=JPRS Report: East Europe |publisher=[[Foreign Broadcast Information Service]] |title=Growing Popularity of Liberal-Democratic Congress |pages=14-15}}</ref>
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 18:57, 15 June 2025

Template:More citations needed

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The Liberal Democratic Congress (Template:Langx, KLD) was a conservative-liberal political party in Poland.[1] The party, led by Donald Tusk, had roots in the Solidarity movement. It advocated free market economy, individual liberty, European integration in the form of European Union membership, and rapid privatisation of the enterprises still owned by the Polish state and decentralisation of the government.

History

The party was founded in 1990 by the faction of Solidarity that strongly favoured free-market economy. Until 1991, was a part of the Centre Agreement led by the Kaczyński brothers. In the 1991 Polish parliamentary election, KLD got 7.5% of the votes and 37 seats in the Sejm (total 460 seats). Composed of anti-communist neoliberals, the MPs of the Liberal Democratic Congress were heavily involved in the Balcerowicz Plan, a neoliberal "shock therapy" program which dismantled the socialist economy in Poland and introduced a free-market capitalist economy through radical deregulation and privatization measures.[2]

Widespread public discontent with the Balcerowicz Plan and neoliberal policies caused the party's support to sharply decline.[2] In the 1993 Polish parliamentary election, KLD got 4.0% of the votes and was left without seats. The party then became increasingly marginalized and struggled to find a role for itself in Polish politics.[3]

In 1994, the KLD merged with the Democratic Union (Unia Demokratyczna) to form the Freedom Union (Unia Wolności, UW), preserving its liberal ideals. Former members, including Lewandowski and Donald Tusk, later joined the Civic Platform (PO) in 2001, where they shaped its moderate conservative wing. The KLD's legacy endures in Poland's market-driven economy, EU membership (2004), and the political careers of its founders. Donald Tusk, the KLD's final chairman (1991–1994), ascended to become Prime Minister of Poland (2007–2014) and President of the European Council (2014–2019), while Lewandowski served as EU Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget (2010–2014), cementing the KLD's enduring impact on Poland's democratic trajectory.

Election results

Sejm

Election year Votes % Seats +/– Government
1991 839,978 7.49 (#7) Template:Composition bar Increase 37 PC–ZChN–PSL-PL–SLCh (1991–1992)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
UD–ZChN–PChD–KLD–PSL-PL–SLCh–PPPP (1992–1993)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1993 550,578 3.99 (#10) Template:Composition bar Decrease 37 Extra-parliamentary

Senate

Election year Seats +/– Government
1991 Template:Composition bar PC–ZChN–PSL-PL–SLCh (1991–1992)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
UD–ZChN–PChD–KLD–PSL-PL–SLCh–PPPP (1992–1993)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
1993 Template:Composition bar Decrease 5 SLD–PSL

Ideology

The party advocated individual rights and neoliberal reforms.[4] The Liberal Democratic Congress was more radical on neoliberal economic postulates than the Freedom Union, postulating radical deregulation and arguing that "market rules took precedence of moral and political norms".[5] The party postulated a capitalist state based on the promotion of free enterprise, privatization and the consolidation of private ownership.[6]

The Liberal-Democratic Congress wanted to bring a "neoliberal and conservative revolution" to Poland based on the examples of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Economically, the party listed Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig Mises, Walter Lippmann and Raymond Aron as its patrons. The leader of the party, Donald Tusk, claimed that "the basic evil of communism was the omnipresence of state institutions" and that "progress will be evident in privatization". The party also considered itself liberal-conservative.[7]

References

Template:Reflist

See also

Template:Polish political parties Template:Authority control

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  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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